Defectors

Major General Abdul-Fattah Younis, defected 22 February

Former interior minister and now chief-of-staff of the Libyan revolution was one of the most important figures to abandon Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime. He ordered his soldiers to raid a military base near Benghazi and seize the weapons that have fuelled the uprising. He participated in the 1969 revolution against the king and for over four decades headed the country's special forces.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, defected 21 February

The first prominent defector, Jalil was justice minister between 2007 and 2011. Before that he was president of the court of appeal in Tripoli which twice upheld the death penalty against five Bulgarian nurses allegedly accused of contaminating Libyan children with HIV. Despite this Jalil has had a reputation for condemning human rights violations perpetrated by the Gaddafi regime. Since his defection to the rebels he has been appointed chairman of the National Transitional Council in Benghazi and supported calls for a no-fly zone.

Ali Suleiman Aujali, former Libyan ambassador to the US, defected 22 February

One of the most senior of the dozens of Libyan diplomats to switch sides. Having publicly said he would not defect he switched sides the following day. On 26 February he became the first former diplomat to recognise the new transitional government in Benghazi.

Supporters

Brigadier General Abdullah Senussi

Variously reported sacked or killed in an abortive coup attempt, Senussi appears to still be very much in play. Gaddafi's brother in law, he was convicted in absentia by a French court for his part in the downing of a passenger jet over Niger that killed 170 people. Believed to be head of military intelligence his organisation is currently one of the most influential within the regime.

Saif al Islam al-Gaddafi

Gaddafi's heir apparent, Saif Gaddafi has been one of the most visible members of the regime since the beginning of the revolution with rhetoric hardly less bellicose than his father's. Although he had been regarded as the most reform minded within Gaddafi's circle, his performances since the uprising have dented his reputation for being a moderating influence, becoming one of the main propagandists of the regime's claims that the rebellion has seen an alliance of al-Qaida, criminal gangs and western imperialist ambitions. He is believed to want his father to step aside.

Khamis al-Gaddafi

Colonel Gaddafi's youngest son who commands his own elite unit which has been highly visible in defending Tripoli. Although he was reported killed after a suicide plane attack on his father's compound there has been no corroborating evidence of either the attack or indeed his death or injury in it. A mutiny or defection by his well-trained and equipped troops would be fatal for the regime's survival.